Operation: SCALPEL
by Chubs34
Summary: Follow the first command position of Lt. Cedric Allistair as he journeys with the Infinity against the Covenant. He'll have to face the enigmatic threat with his training. But with his lack of expierience, he's bound to get good men killed. Will the Covenant vindicate his self-doubts, or will his talent strike decisive blows to the dogmatic war machine?


Welcome. I'm Chubs34, nice to meet you. Here's a little something of a side project I wanted to do, and tell me what you think.

O

An officer sat on a bench. His rupsack on the floor between his boots, and a manilla folder in his hands. In the stark light, he couldd see the text clearly, but he couldn't believe it. He had gotten it a few hours before, and had looked at it the moment it landed in his palms. But at every glance, it still didn't make sense.

On the paper, it told him that he was going to serve aboard the UNSC _Infinity_. It was _the_ most respected ship in the entire fleet. The biggest, the most advanced, and the best. It's firepower was unmatched, and it was here, on Earth. It was the vanguard for human conquest. Only the best of the best got on.

And he made it in. He wasn't expierienced, on field or on command. He'd only just made it out of the Academy, and was preparing for a command in some installation on the fringe. But the _Infinity_? It had to be a mistake.

He sighed, and knew that it wasn't. The way the war was going against the Covenant, every mind had to be put to full use. Sure, he did good on the sims, but he had no real value other than scores on a screen. He closed the folder, and his thoughts along with it. He placed it into the rupsack, and closed it. He simply stepped past the busy crowd, and looked out the window at the airfield.

Pelicans, Hornets, and two Frigates all were docked there, being re-armed, fueled, and repaired. He looked out at it, then at his watch. Fifteen to departure. His mother always told him that if you were early, you were on time, if you were on time, you were late, and if you were late, you shouldn't show up at all.

He walked switfly towards the exit to the field, and looked around for his Pelican. He spotted 234-a, and made his way to it. He presented his ID to the Marine guards, and they let him pass with a wave. He walked out towards the massive dropship, and a few men were piling on supplies to the ship.

"Is this 234-a?" He shouted, and one of them nodded. He thanked them quickly, and made his way onboard. One of the pilots was on the backside, checking off the cargo.

She looked up at the black-haired young man, and aksed him: "Lt. Allistair?" He nodded in confirmation. She checked him off her list, and extended her hand. "Major Hermann. Welcome aboard."

"Thank you, Major. Where should I sit?" He asked, looking around the area.

"Anywhere. We're only taking you and some special requests up to the _Infinity_." She motioned towards the row of seats to her side.

He placed his backpack down, and took a seat, with perfect posture. He looked out towards the field, and stared for a bit. Hermann was far more expierienced than him, and could tell if someone was nervous.

"Hey." He looked at her. "It's gonna be fine."

"Thanks." He said simply. The brown-haired woman took her seat across from him.

"You know, you could probably have waited longer before coming out here. It's normal to leave a little behind schedule for these types of runs."

Allistair smiled a little, for the first time in a while. It dissapeared as soon as it arrived. "Let me tell you something my mother told me when I was young."

O

The two pilots flicked on and off switches. Some for landing gear, others for engines. Thrust, guidance, and stabilizers, all went on. Once they finished, the radioed in their preparations. The tower in the middle of the field confirmed their departure, and even more swicthes were flipped.

Hermann and Franks, her co-pilot, readied their bird. Franks put his hands on the controls, and Hermann tappd the intercom to the back area, where Allistair sat. "Buckled in? We're lifting off." He confirmed his own seating, and clenched his legs around his belongings.

Franks came on the comms now, both in the Pelican and to the tower. "Lifitng...now." Allistair felt the bird jar upwards, and he shook in his seat. His bag nearly slipped from him, but his legs kept hold. He gulped, and grabbed his seat belt tighter. He could still sense the bird moving upwards, and fast. He heard the radio control tower say something, but he couldn't make it out over the sound of his fear.

But the bird smoothened out. He found it easier to relax, so let his legs unclench and his breath exhale. He breathed deep a few times, the red lights illuminating barely the troop area. He heard Hermann come on over the radio. It wasn't to control this time, it was to him.

"You OK back there?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Alright, good. We're gonna breach atmosphere in fifteen, so find something to hold onto. And fast." Her voice sounded wary, and he could tell that "fifteen" didn't mean minutes. It meant seconds. His adrenaline forced his eyes to scan the entire area fast, and could barely make out a rope handle on the top. It was for standing Marines, but he could reach it well enough.

He grabbed on, just as Franks said "Breaching. Hang on back there. It's gonna be rough."

Rough it was. The entire Pelican shook as if an earthquake had started inside of it. He felt his bag, despite his best efforts, slip from his legs. But that was the least of his worries. He was more concerned over his lunch. But after a whole relentless minute of that, it stopped.

He opened his eyes, and his body still was tense. It didn't let go of the rope until Hermann told him that the worst was over. At that, his hand, sore from his grip, fell to his lap. He took a shaky breath, and let his heart rate return to normal.

"Hey, Lt., come up here. Check out the view." Hermann invited him up.

"Sure." He said, feigning toughness. "Gimme a sec." He gained his composure, and unbuckled himself from his seat. He hung onto the hand holds, and made his way to the door. He opened it with some troubleshooting and problem solving skills, and pulled himself into the cockpit. He held onto one of the seats, and Hermann pointed up at the window.

As he did, Allistair's eyes became dinner plates. His jaw dropped, and he exhaled in awe of the _Infinity_. It was massive, having a forward-mounted Super-MAC cannon, mutliple docks, and guns to boot. It was tethered to a space dock, refueling and restocking for it's next mission. It was immaculate.

"Wow..." He breathed.

"Beauty, ain't she?" Hermann commented. She then noticed his shaken appearance. "You ok? Can't be your first time up in space, is it?"

"No, no. Just not on a Pelican."

"Oh. Well, glad me and Franks could be the ones to pop your cherry." SHe joked coyly, smiling. Franks gave a dry chuckle. Allistair's face grew slightly red.

"Yeah..." He trailed off, lost in thought. He'd seen the pictures of the _Infinity_, mainly in his folder but pictures didn't do the warship enough justice. He'd been around UNSC ships all his life, but never one so huge.

"So, what ship you first serve on?" Hermann asked of him.

"Huh?" Alistair sounded, confused, and still a little awestruck.

"No one makes it onto the _Infinity_ without having done something grand before. What ship? The _Daedalus? _The _Jericho? _The _Calcutta?_"

Franks interrupted her speech harshly. "You even read the stuff I gave you? The lieutenant's green as grass. Fresh out of the Academy."

"Then how the hell did he make it onto the _Infinity?" _She exclaimed incredulously.

"Top of his class. Apparently in the command simulators he had a five-star rating in 90% of his battles. Against his classmates he had five stars around 80% of the time." Hermann looked up and around at the young man standing beside her chair.

"Really?" She asked. Some of the operators on the _Infinity_ didn't have ratings that good from the Academy.

"Well, those _were _just simulations, and against my classmates it wasn't real." He said humbly. "I don't know how well I'd do against the Covenant though. Or Forerunners for that matter."

"With a five-star rating?" Franks interjected, "You'll be a godsend to theose men on that ship."

"Thank you very much, but save the medals until I've actually _done _something." He replied politely. He knew some Covenant tactics. Mainly aggresive waves of enemies that seemed unending. But still, he had to be ready for anything.

Franks grunted in response. He flipped open the comm channel. "Infinity, this is Pelican 234-a, requestiing permission to board."

"Permission granted. You have Lt. Allistair?"

"We do. Dropping him off in five minutes." Franks then flipped it off, and turned to Allistair. "Alright, get yourself ready to exit. The Captain will probably want to meet you in person, and it doesn't look good if you're backpack's a mess."

"Gotcha. Thank you." He turned, and went to assemble his pack. He sat down and opened his pack. There was very little in there. A few extra clothes, the folder, and a few other articles. He prepared what he was going to say to Captain Lasky. What could he say though? "Thanks for taking some green kid from Madrigal on your ship for your super-important mission?"

No. But he'd find something. He looked over to the rear exit. He had to prove his worth somehow.


End file.
